Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Aspects of the Normans in Southern Italy, Sicily & North Africa

The Creation of Siculo-Norman Culture

After decades of social and culture mixing within the Norman lands of southern Italy and Sicily, the local populations of the region began to experience the creation of a distinct cultural identity and practice. Decades of Italian, French, Norman, Arab, Berber, Greek, Lombard, and Jewish influence began to be incorporated into a distinct culture. This change could be felt throughout the domain, especially when it came to the population, economy, education, and administrative works of the Norman kingdom. This cultural identity would be called by historians as "Siculo-Norman." This new culture was now one of the defining characteristics of future endeavours for Norman influence and expansion across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Since the Normans stepped foot on the Italian Peninsula, the average individual living under Siculo-Norman rule seemed to adapt well to the change. For many, the average person living in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily was wealthier when compared to other ruling powers across the Mediterranean world. The languages of French, Latin, Greek, and Arabic flowed freely and interchangeably throughout education, market, and political centers throughout the kingdom. Trade networks across the Mediterranean were spread out like a web that led to the Norman city of Palermo. Goods and services of all kind could be acquired in Palermo thanks to these vast connections that began to cooperate together thanks to the diversity of bilingualism throughout the city. When compared to other multicultural and cross-cultural domains of the same time period, there doesn't seem to many others that compared to the successes of Norman Sicily and the development of Siculo-Norman culture.

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